


Spilled Ink

by KatherineAJones



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: (just a little at the beginning), Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Multi, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tattoo AU, Tattoos, a bit of a twist, basically just all the people, basically they're not demigods, human!AU, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-20 23:50:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6030358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatherineAJones/pseuds/KatherineAJones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They each wonder about the tattoos the other gets: the stories behind them, the feelings they show. And each wonders what the other thinks about what they choose to share in the ink spilling over their skin. </p>
<p>Basically, when one half of a soulmate pair gets a tattoo, the other one does, too. Based on a tumblr ask I saw for someone else, so thank you to that asker for this idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spilled Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I know I haven't posted a fic in a while, but I promise I'm working on them. I'd love to say this is a quick one I threw together to get something up, but it actually took me a couple of weeks and ended up longer than intended; oops! This was started before I learned that there is officially no age gap between them, so it's written with a two year age gap. Also, they're not demigods, but there are some nods to their godly parentage. No Beta reader, and I didn't look over it extremely thoroughly, so I apologize for whatever mistakes I didn't catch. 
> 
> Special thanks to radiantrenegade on tumblr for suggesting tattoos!
> 
> Enjoy!

Nico is sixteen when the first names appear on his ribs, just beside his left arm.

It happens during the last class on the last day of school. It starts as a quiet throb in his veins, but by the time the last bell rings, Nico is ready to scream or rip his shirt off or both.

Finally - _finally_ \- he is able to jump in his car and go home, pushing the speed limit as much as he dares. The moment he’s in the house, he’s racing up to his room, pulling his shirt off as he goes. Once his shirt is off, he stands in front of his mirror and just stares.

 

_Παππούς_ _  
_

_Γιαγιά_

_Grandpa_

_Grammy_

_Lee_

_Michael_

 

Who the hell _are_ these people?!? And what are their names doing on Nico’s body?

He doesn’t know how long he stares at them, bringing his finger up to trace the scrawling letters. Questions crowd his mind, filling up the air of his room and making him dizzy.

Hazel opens the door and lets in a breeze that stirs up the thoughts that have settled like dust over his room.

“Hey, Nico, I was wondering if...” Hazel trails off as she notices what Nico is staring at. “What are... where did you get those?”

Nico shook his head in a daze, “I- I don’t know. They just showed up during school. I think they’re names, but I don’t know why they’re on me.”

Hazel hesitates for a moment before asking, “Do you...do you think they have something to do with your Soulmate?”

“I suppose they could be...” Nico shrugged, “Who do you think these people are to them?”

“Maybe...” Hazel stepped closer, silently asking for permission to touch Nico. Nico nodded and took his hand away from his chest, allowing Hazel to run her fingers over the names, studying them. “Maybe they’re people who have died.”

Nico’s breath hitched, “They lost so many.”

Hazel pursed her lips sadly, “Well, I suppose you’ll have your own names to add to the list one day.”

Nico just nodded, his eyes retracing the letters.

* * *

Will is twenty when four new names join his list.

 

_Nonno_

_Nonna_

_Mamma_

_Bianca_

 

So his Soulmate has lost people, too. He hadn’t been expecting that, or even fully believed that Soulmates _did_ get each other’s tattoos. But here was the evidence, staring back at him in black font, a handwriting very different from his own looping and curling across his skin.

As terrible as it sounds, he couldn’t help but smile at that. He didn’t really know anything about his Soulmate, but he knew they shared the loss of loved ones. He wondered if his Soulmate would get any other tattoos, and he considered if he wanted to get any more, either. It was an interesting way to get to know someone.

Suddenly his friend Cecil burst through the door, mouth going a million miles an hour, “Oh man, you wouldn’t believe what just happened in history today. We were talking about partying and this tour walks by and Katie just- Jesus Christ, man, I know you have abs, but you don’t need to be narcissistic about it!”

Will furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, before looking down at his shirtless body, looking back up at Cecil, and bursting out laughing, “No, sorry, I wasn’t looking at myself! I mean, I was, but not for the reason you think. I have new tattoos.”

Now it was Cecil’s turn to furrow his brow in confusion, “Huh? But you didn’t tell me you were getting more tattoos.”

Will shook his head, “Because I wasn’t. These just showed up. I think my Soulmate added them.”

“No way! That’s so cool!”

Will looked over at Cecil like he was stupid, “No, it’s not cool. They’re people who have died.”

“Okay, well,” Cecil squirmed, “that part’s not cool, but it’s pretty cool that you know something about them now.”

Will gave a short sideways nod of allowance, “That’s true.”

“I wonder if they’ll get more tattoos and you can learn more about them,” Cecil barely stopped for breath before asking, “Oooooh, wait, are you going to get more tattoos?” Will barely had time to shrug his indecision before Cecil was practically shouting, “What are you gonna get?!?”

“I don’t . . . really know. I haven’t given it much thought. I mean, yeah, I suppose I wouldn’t mind getting more. What do you think?”

“I think you should do it. I think it’ll be great. You should get more tattoos.”

Will laughed, “Okay, Cecil. I’ll get more tattoos.”

Cecil cheered.

* * *

It became some sort of weird ritual. One got a tattoo, and then another, their life stories spelled out and intertwining on their skin, but never quite overlapping.

Will’s next tattoo was a laurel wreath on the back of his neck, the open part brushing the ends of his hair. Nico countered with skeletal butterflies curving around the tricep and bicep of his right arm. Ravens fly up their backs until they spread into huge black wings whose tips brush their collarbones. There’s a black sword on their left forearm that pointing to a moon on their wrist, and a bow and arrow on their right forearm that points to a sun. A small crown is tucked behind one ear and music notes behind the other. Watercolor flowers blossom down from the shoulder to the elbow of their left arm. Words in Italian, Greek, and English curl and spiral over previously empty skin: under a collarbone, around an ankle, down the sides of fingers, and on the tops of thighs. Nico adds an iris to his left side in honor of Bianca, and “buio” and “ελαφρης” form its leaves. A wolf races on their foot towards their toes, and a key locks their hearts.

They each wonder about the tattoos the other gets: the stories behind them, the feelings they show. And each wonders what the other thinks about what they choose to share in the ink spilling over their skin.

* * *

Nico later supposes it’s irony that makes them meet in winter, when skin is covered and life is hidden under snow and ice. It’s up in the mountains, where Nico has been going skiing with his family for as long as he can remember. Will is staying with friends and is shit at skiing. Their first encounter is when Will almost crashes into Nico’s back as the blonde careens down the mountain. Nico barely manages to slip to the side before he’s hit, and then races after the blonde to help him stop himself. Will ends up tumbling into a snowbank and Nico has to fish him out, unlatching Will’s skis to keep him from sliding backward down the slight incline.

“Are you okay?” Nico asks, giving the other man a quick once over despite not being able to see his skin, blonde hair the only thing peeking out from under this helmet.

The taller boy pulled his goggles off and up, setting them on his helmet and revealing his bright blue eyes, “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for your help!”

Nico nods, and he should just keep going. His job here is done, but something draws him to this boy. “No problem. Have you been skiing before?”

“A little bit, a long time ago. I’m here with friends, and they’re much better skiers. I think they’ve already headed down, actually.”

Nico raised an eyebrow, nodding slowly, “Why don’t I head down with you? To keep you from running into anyone else?”

Will lit up, “That’d be great! I’m Will, by the way.”

Nico offered his gloved hand and replied, “Nico. Nice to meet you, Will.”

“You two, Nico. Now, um, could you help me get my skis back on? One of my friends put them on for me before, so I don’t really know how to.”

“Oh, yeah, of course!”

Not long after, they were back on course and Nico was teaching Will how to actually ski so he wouldn’t have to crash into anymore snowbanks to stop himself. When they made it down the mountain, they were laughing so hard they had to lean on each other to stay up.

“Oh man, I think that’s it for me today,” Will confessed. “I’m not really feeling up for making a fool of myself again and running into anyone else.”

Nico made a noise of agreement, “I’ve been out here for a while, too. What do you say we head back to the lodge and get some hot chocolates?”

“That’d be great!” Will grinned.

They headed back to the lodge, continuing to laugh as Will tried not to trip over his skis.

“I don’t remember the last time I laughed this hard,” Nico confessed as he collapsed into a chair by the fire. He groaned as he finally slipped his gloves off of his hand, squeezing and stretching them to work out the kinks. Then he brought his hands up to lower his scarf and take off his goggles. When he looked up to flag down a waiter, he heard someone’s breath hitch and looked around to see who it was. His eyes landed on Will and he started when he noticed the other man staring at him, “What? Is there something on my face?”

Will shook his head, “No, I just . . .” he seemed to fumble with words for a moment before settling on, “didn’t realize you’re my age.”

Nico raised an eyebrow, “What? Did you think I was younger?”

Will cleared his throat, “Older, actually. Because you’re so good at skiing.”

A wry smile played over Nico’s lips, “Ah, that would be because I’ve been coming here since I was a child. I’ve been skiing for almost as long as I’ve been walking.”

“Oh,” was all Will seemed able to say in reply to that. Luckily, a waiter showed up to take their orders, and they were able to setting into a normal conversation about nothing after the interruption.

They talked of hobbies, friends, home, travel, and childhoods. They laughed loudly enough to draw a few curious glances, and talked as if they were the only ones in the room. Nico supposed this was unusual for him, to share so much after knowing someone for so short a time, but something about Will relaxed Nico and made him feel at home. Will, too, felt the unusualness of the situation, but ignored it in favor of getting to know the beautiful man in front of him better.

They quickly lost track of time, but were shocked back to the present when Will was tapped on the shoulder by another man their age.

“Hey, Will, there you are!” the brunette said, grinning as he looked between Will and Nico, “You disappeared on us. What brought you in here?”

Will blushed, “I almost ran into Nico here and after he helped me down the mountain, we decided we’d skied enough for the day and came in here to get hot chocolate. Where’s Lou?”

“She had to go to the bathroom so sent me to find you. I’m glad we came here first so I didn’t have to go crawling all over the mountain to find you.”

Will rolled his eyes and gave Cecil an exasperated look, “You could have just texted me.”

Cecil looked at Will blankly, “I did. Several times. So did Lou, and she called you, too.”

Will wrinkled his brow, pulling out his phone, “You did? Oh. You did. Oops, I didn’t notice.”

Nico smirked, “That may be my fault,” he leaned forward to shake Cecil’s hand, “I’m Nico di Angelo.”

“Cecil Hermes,” he grinned that grin from earlier again, “It’s your fault he was so distracted, huh? You must be something special.” Cecil winked at Will, making the blonde turn red.

Nico laughed, “I’d like to think so. Where are you all staying? In the lodge?”

Cecil shook his head, “I have a house up here.”

“Oh really? I do to. Where on the mountain is it?”

“Honestly?” Cecil laughed, “I don’t even know. I’ve been coming here for so long I just know the way by heart.”

Nico nodded in understanding, “Yeah, all I know is I’m about a mile from the lodge. How long are you all here for?”

“Until the end of the week. You?”

“This is my last day skiing. I’ll pack up tomorrow morning and then head home.”

“Wait, really?” Will asked, sounding a bit distressed.

Nico nodded, “Yeah, I have to get back to college. Can’t really be late for my last semester, after all.”

“College, huh?” Cecil asked, “What are you studying?”

“Psychology, with a minor in Italian.”

“Oh, interesting. I was an International Business major and Literature minor with a focus in Poetry to keep me sane,” Cecil replied, making Nico laugh. “Lou majored in Chemistry, the crazy woman, and minored in Astronomy for some reason.”

“You talking bad about me?” a new voice said, this one female, “Because may I remind you I know all of the world’s poisons.”

Cecil turned white, “N-no, of course I’m not talking bad about you!”

The woman smirked and kissed Cecil’s cheek before turning to Nico, holding out her hand, “Hi, I’m Lou Ellen. I hope these two idiots haven’t been bothering you too much.”

Nico shook her hand, “Nico di Angelo. And no, not at all. Will and I were talking when Cecil walked up.”

“Oooh, you’re who was keeping him distracted,” Lou let her gaze go up and down his body, “I see why.”

It was Nico’s turn to be pink, but his color was nothing to Will’s red, “Lou!”

“What? I’m just saying. . . .”

Will groaned and put his head in his hands. Nico took pity on him and said, “Don’t worry; if my friends were here, they’d be doing the same thing.”

Will looked up, “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Nico replied, trying to will down his blush, “I never talk to cute guys.”

“Y-you think I’m-”

“Nico!”

Nico winced, “Speaking of my friends. . . .” He stood up, bracing himself, “Hey, Percy, Jason.”

One of the guys jumped on him in a bear hug, “Dude, I thought we lost you. You could have disappeared into the woods for all we knew!”

Nico rolled his eyes, patting the guy on the back, “I’m fine, Percy. I know how to handle myself. You of all people should know that after all the times I’ve beaten your ass in races down the mountain.”

The man grew back, offended, “I beg your pardon? Watch your mouth, young man!”

The other guy, a blonde, snorted, “You’re one to talk, Percy, with the way you cuss.”

Percy shot an indignant look at Jason, “You’re supposed to be on my side, dude. We’re cousins.”

Jason rolled his eyes, “We’re all cousins, you idiot.”

Percy pouted, “Not the point.”

Knowing they would go on forever if they could, Nico cut in, “Where is everyone else?”

“Oh, right!” Percy lit up, grinning, “The girls are going one more time, and Frank, Grover, and Leo are waiting for them. Once they’re done, we can head back to the house.”

Jason had been looking over at Will, Cecil, and Lou while Percy was saying this and now he asked, “You wanna introduce us to your new friends, Nico?”

Percy was instantly changing his focus, “Ooh, yeah, who are these guys?” He lifted his eyebrows suggestively, failing at subtling pointing towards Will.

Nico sighed, “See? I told you they would make a big deal about it. Jason, Percy, this is Will, Cecil, and Lou. I met Will when he almost ran into me on the mountain, and Cecil and Lou showed up a little while ago trying to find him. Will, Cecil, and Lou, this is Jason and Percy, my annoying cousins. They’re staying with me and a few friends at the house. Percy in particular has no filter, so please forgive him for anything he says or asks.”

Percy looked Will up and down, “So, what do you do, Will?”

Will looked a bit surprised at being addressed, but smiled and replied, “I’m in med school right now.”

“Oh yeah?” Percy grinned, “That’s pretty cool. How’d you decide you wanted to do that?”

Will shrugged, “My parents are both doctors, and a few other family members, so I basically grew up in different hospitals and sort of just got used to being in them.”

“Yeah, we practically had to drag him to get him up here,” Cecil smirked, shoving Will’s shoulder, “But we knew he needed a break. What do the two of you do?”

“Percy’s a marine biologist and I’m a meteorologist,” Jason said. “So, Will, you almost ran into Nico? What course were you on? Because he’s usually on the Black Diamond.”

“Uhhh,” Will eloquently said, “Not on Black Diamond.”

Nico jumped in to save the poor guy, “I went on an easier course for a bit of a cool down. I was going slower than I normally would, so it’s not his fault he almost ran into me.”

Luckily for Nico’s sanity, the others finally showed up and Percy and Jason’s girlfriends managed to distract them long enough for Nico ask for Will’s number after introductions had been made.

“I’m sorry my friends are a bit overwhelming,” Nico started.

Will waved off the apology, “My friends started it. I wish we had had a bit more time to talk, though.”

“Actually, I was wondering if you would like to exchange numbers?” Nico fidgeted awkwardly, feeling like he was back in high school.

Will lit up, “Yeah, that’d be great! Here, give me your phone and I’ll give you mine.”

They exchanged numbers and shy smiles before saying goodbye, Will wishing Nico safe travels back home and Nico wishing Will a fun week of skiing.

On his way back to the house, Nico barely heard or saw his friends’ jokes and amused glances about his love life, too wrapped up in texting Will with a soft smile on his face.

* * *

They talked more than Will had anticipated, and probably more than he talked to anyone else. Sometimes they talked on the phone or over Skype, but their busy schedules usually forced them to text.

But it was nice. Will liked having someone in his life who remembered to check on him and seem genuinely interested in what was going on in his life. He liked having someone he didn’t feel like he was bothering when he had a random thought at 4 in the morning that he just _had_ to share with someone.

Sometimes they talked about deep stuff, but usually it was just the fun parts of life: trying a new ice cream flavor, seeing something weird at the store, or something funny that happened that day.

Will’s friends joked he was falling in love, and he supposed he did love Nico on some level, but he didn’t want to say he was _in_ love. He only wanted to be _in_ love with his Soulmate, whoever they were. Still, he decided he loved Nico, at least as friends. And friends was enough for him.

* * *

Nico dropped his bags to the floor before collapsing on his bed face-first, so thankful he could finally relax after both a long drive and a long week. “I’m never moving again,” he groaned into his pillow.

There was a chuckle from the doorway and Nico looked up at see his host standing there, smiling.

“Shut up, Percy. This week has been shit.”

Percy rolled his eyes, moving into the room to sit on the bed, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I invited you here. You need to take more breaks, man.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Nico sighed, rolling over and sitting up, “but I will have to keep my phone near me, just so you know. One of my clients is slipping a bit, and I need to be there for them if they need me.”

“Okay, I understand. Just take care of you, too, yeah?” Percy asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah,” Nico smiled, “I will.”

Percy smiled back and squeezed Nico’s shoulder before getting up, “Jason and Piper will be here, soon, so be prepared for his questions.”

Nico chuckled, “Thanks for the warning. Now get out so I can unpack!” he shooed the other man out of the room and then turned to his bags to get his clothes hung up and put into drawers.

Nico was so ready for this break, filled with good seafood, relaxing on the beach, and laughing with friends. He knew he needed to do this more often, but Percy’s invitation provided a good excuse, making him feel less like he was skipping out on other things he should be doing. He let his mind setting into autopilot as he unpacked his bag, only coming back to himself when Jason showed up at the door.

“Hey,” the blonde grinned, moving in for a hug, “How are you doing? Percy said you needed this trip.”

Nico hugged back, “Yeah, it was definitely needed. It’s been a long week. Other than that, though, I’m alright. How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” Jason replied, pulling back. “I don’t think I need this trip as much as you do, but it’s certainly going to be nice.” They chat for a moment about mutual friends before Piper showed up to tell them it was time for dinner.

“Percy made salmon, so I suggest getting your butts in the kitchen before it’s all gone.”

Knowing how good Percy’s salmon was, Jason and Nico quickly followed her advice and followed her - and their noses - back to the kitchen.

After a filling meal of Percy’s to-die-for cooking, catching up with his friends on their lives, and a card game for old time’s sake, Nico was warm, happy, and ready to go to bed. He fell asleep easily that night, not noticing his phone lighting up.

The next morning, Jason had them all up bright and early to go down to the beach. He and Frank had already gone on a run, and so were plenty awake for a day in the surf and sun. Hazel insisted they all get breakfast first, and made sure everyone put on sunscreen before they grabbed towels and flip-flops.

Nico hadn’t been planning on getting wet. But then, he should have known his plans didn’t matter with this group. Their sunscreen had barely had time to settle into their skin before Percy was dragging them all into the water for a Splash War. Percy, of course, emerged victorious after soaking everyone else and not seeming to get any water on himself. Nico grinned as he trudged back up the beach to lay out his towel and catch as many rays as possible, determined to head back home with his full Italian tan. Under the warm sun, with tired muscles from the Splash War, a tired brain from his week, and the comfort of his friends nearby, it wasn’t long before Nico fell asleep.

He woke up to the sound of laughter and opened his eyes to see Percy with seaweed tangled in his hair and everyone bent double.

“How the hell did you do that?” he asked, getting up to help Percy get the plant out since he knew no one else would.

Percy pouted, “Annabeth braided it in while I wasn’t paying attention and I made it more tangled when I tried to get it out.”

Nico snorted, “You’re so dumb.” The seaweed finally became untangled and Nico tossed it back into the ocean.

Focused as he had been on getting the seaweed out of Percy’s hair, Nico hadn’t noticed the new tattoo on his back. His fingers traced the letters of, “I am the architect of my own Destruction,” and he asked, “When did you get this one? I haven’t seen it before.”

“Oh! Annabeth got that. Pretty neat, isn’t it?”

Nico nodded, “That makes, what? Four you have together?”

Annabeth nodded, “Yeah, something like that. The owl on our ankles, the quote on our arm, the ocean scene on our other arm, and the quote on our back. How many are you up to at this point, anyway?”

Nico snorted, “I have no idea. Too many to count. What about you, Reyna and Thalia?”

Reyna rolled her eyes, but smiled fondly, “Seven, and they’re all from Thalia.”

Thalia hit her fiancée, “Hey, don’t hate! You approved all of them after that first one, and considering the first one is what got us into conversation in the first place, you really shouldn’t complain.”

Reyna just shook her head, leaning against Thalia’s shoulder and placing a quick kiss on the tattooed dagger there.

They went around the group, sharing how many tattoos they each had and what they were. Once people had figured out that your Soulmate got the same tattoos you did, it became common to get at least one (usually on a very visible part of the body) so you could easily identify them. Because of this, each of his friends had something, but no one had as many as Nico.

Talk of tattoos turned to talk of memories, as talk of the past often will. Soon, they were all rolling over the sand laughing and crying as Hazel recounted Leo’s attempts to flirt with a group of popular girls back in high school as Leo valiantly tried to defend his actions. Next was the story of Percy and Annabeth meeting at camp when Percy fell asleep on the beach and Annabeth was dared by her friends to wake him up. Thalia talked about Jason trying to eat a stapler when they were kids, Jason countered with pictures of Thalia’s rebellious phase, and Hazel topped them all with the reminder of what happened when Nico and Frank met.

At some point, a couple of people went up to the house to make everyone sandwiches to eat on the beach, and after lunch they had a sandcastle making contest Nico judged. He declared Annabeth and Percy’s the winner (to no one’s surprise) with Leo and Calypso a close runner-up.

After the destruction of the castles and a round of sand-angels that left them all feeling grainy, they took turns at the outside shower to rinse off the worst of the sand before heading inside for more thorough showers.

Sitting at a table full of good food and the laughter of friends, Nico felt at home, but he still felt like something was missing. It wasn’t until he laid down that night to go to sleep that he realized what it was. He hadn’t found his Soulmate yet. All of his friends had found who they were supposed to be with forever, but he still didn’t know his. It wasn’t that he thought he didn’t have one - the tattoos on his skin were proof he did - but he did wonder when he would meet them.

When he woke up the next morning, Nico finally check his phone to find a text from Will checking in on him. He smiled as he replied.

_WS: Do you get time to relax from your busy week now that the weekend’s here?_

_NdA: Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! Yeah, I do get time to relax. Percy invited me and my friends to his beach house for the weekend so he had an excuse to drag me away from work and make me rest. How’s your weekend going?_

Will’s reply was almost immediate.

_WS: Really good, so far! I’m at the beach, too, with a few friends at my house. We just got here last night, so I’m ready to get in the water._

They talked for a little longer until Nico was called to a breakfast of Jason’s heavenly waffles. It wasn’t until much later in the day that Nico was reminded of both his thoughts the night before and Will Solace. And, well, that was rather forcibly.

He was in the place between being asleep and being awake while sunbathing, enjoying the warmth of the sun, when he felt something bounce off his stomach. He barely had to time to process what had happened before he was hearing, “Shit, I’m sor-” being cut off by a strangled noise of distress.

Nico blinked, waking up fully, and looked to see what - and who - had hit him. His eyes first landed on a white volleyball sitting on the sand next to his towel before traveling up to a blonde head of hair that was now blocking the sun from his eyes. It took a second for his eyes to focus on the face, but he was surprised to see Will when they did focus.

“Oh, hey,” Nico greeted, standing up. “I didn’t realize this was the beach you were talking about or I would . . . have. . . .” He drifted off as his brain finally processed that Will was shirtless and tan and so gorgeous it should be illegal. And . . . was that . . . ? “Um, why do you have the same key tattoo I do?”

Will didn’t seem to hear his question, just continuing to stare at Nico, “Y-you. . . . You have the list.”

“What?” Nico crinkled his brow, looking down at his body and then back up at Will, incredibly confused, “What list?”

“The,” Will gestured vaguely at the air between them, “The list of names. Of my grandparents and brothers.”

It clicked. “Wait . . . if _you_ have my key tattoo, and _I_ have your list tattoo, then that means. . . .” Nico’s face lit up into a brilliant grin and he launched himself at Will, laughing with disbelief and joy.

Will spun Nico around, laughing too, before setting him down and hugging him close, “Oh, I’m so happy it’s you.”

“Me, too,” Nico replied, tucking his face in the juncture between Will’s neck and shoulder.

* * *

While their lives were spelled out on their skin, neither knew the stories of the other. A few months into dating, they took a day to just talk through the reason for each symbol, picture, and word.

As Will’s careful fingers traced over his warm skin, Nico told Will about Bianca, his nickname of The Ghost King, and feeling like he was lost in the dark parts of life.

In exchange, Will told Nico about losing his two older brothers, how he felt like so many people expected him to be happy all the time, and trying to find his own way through life that catered to no one’s expectations but his own.

Nico told Will what the quotes in Italian said, and Will did the same for the quotes in Greek.

 

_Io controllo le ombre. Non sono a controllare me._

_andato e tornato dall'inferno_

_Re Fantasma_

_I mostri si nascondono nel buio_

_ξυπνηστε με αργοτερα_

_αν και η Νυχτα μοιαζει ατελειωτη,ο Ηλιος θα ανατειλει ξανα_

_η αυγη ανατελει αλλα δεν θα με λυγισει_

 

They talked about the animals and the weapons: fierceness, strength, and grace combined into one.

Will admits how hot he thought Nico was when he first saw his face in the ski lodge, and again on the beach when he hit him with the volleyball. Nico laughs at that, but pulls Will close to kiss his cheek. Nico admits that he, too, appreciates Will’s body, which makes Will smirk proudly

That night, they sleep next to each other for the first time; just the presence of the other close and comforting. No sex; there will be time for that later. Just as there will be time for the tattoos on their skin to tell the story of their lives spend together, curling and weaving between the snapshots of their lives before they knew each other.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to let me know about any mistakes, feel free. If you have any questions, please ask. I'm not going to get into why I chose specific majors, tattoos, and things like that in the AN, but if you want to know, I'm happy to answer!
> 
>  
> 
> Translations:  
> Io controllo le ombre. Non sono a controllare me. = I control the shadows. They do no control me.  
> andato e tornato dall'inferno = to hell and back  
> Re Fantasma = The Ghost King  
> I mostri si nascondono nel buio = Monsters hide in the dark  
> ξυπνηστε με αργοτερα = wake me up later  
> αν και η Νυχτα μοιαζει ατελειωτη,ο Ηλιος θα ανατειλει ξανα = Though the Night seems endless, the Sun will rise again  
> η αυγη ανατελει αλλα δεν θα με λυγισει = dawn breaks, but it will not break me


End file.
